Business group backs $60 car tab fee

The Downtown Seattle Association, representing major business interests, is backing Prop. 1, the controversial $60 car tab fee on Seattle’s November ballot.

Supporters of the car tab fee now have backing from major business and labor — The M.L. King County Labor Council — but have been unable to secure endorsements from most major Democratic groups.

The Metropolitan Democratic Club, making its endorsements this week, split down the middle on Prop. 1 and took no stand.

“To keep Seattle moving and Downtown competitive, now is the time to make investments that will make our buses faster and our roads safer,” said Kate Joncas, president of the DSA.

Passage of the measure will make getting through Downtown “easier, faster and safer,” she added.

The car tab fee would be in addition to a $20 fee already imposed by the Seattle City Council, and a $20 fee recently voted by the King County Council to prevent deep cuts in Metro bus service.

The $60-a-year fee would apply to all automobiles, from Cadillac SUV’s to aged 1990′s clunkers, and remain in effect for 10 years. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn urged the City Council to “be bold” and opt for an $80 fee, but city lawmakers opted for the lesser $60 figure.

Unlike most levies and taxes in Seattle, endorsed without much opposition by a generous electorate, the $60 car tab fees have drawn active opposition across the political spectrum.

Social justice advocates have argued that the one fee-for-all vehicles formula is unjust. Others have complained that just 30 percent of the money raised will go to street and road repairs.

If Prop. 1 passes, money will also go to transit, planning for expansion of Seattle’s streetcar system, and what supporters call “pedestrian and family-friendly infrastructure.”